1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image processing apparatus for processing images read via a scanner or the like and to an image processing method using the image processing apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
Document management systems have been known as a system for processing images inputted from such as a scanner as electronic document data, for saving the data in a hard disc, and for efficiently filing and storing various document data including those inputted document data. In a general document management system, the system has a function to search the stored documents with key words upon setting such key words for searches to the documents when the documents are recorded in the document management system and a function to execute processing steps so called as workflow at a time recording the documents with respect to recorded documents according to the types or information of stored directories (see, e.g., Japanese patent unexamined publication No. 2006-126941).
As such a workflow, a process has been widely known in which an email setting forth instructions or information for manager's confirmation or permission is sent to the manager at a time that a user makes recording of a document and then a manipulation is made for rendering the manager confirm the document that the subordinate wants to record and allow the recording. Such a system may have a function to set an attribute of security to the documents when recording the documents in the document management system to allow a disclosure limited to specific users, and a function to add a signature or encryption to prevent documents from being divulged or falsified.
With such a conventional document management system, the workflow is executed for each form although the recorded workflow is to be executed upon automatically recognizing images inputted from a scanner and managing the images with classifying the images for respective forms. For example, for a document whose one set is constituted of plural pages, the workflow according to the first recognized form is executed, or the respective workflow is executed for each form. In a situation for processing a document whose one set is constituted of plural pages, there raises a problem on occurrences of human errors without obtaining intended results in a case that a user wants to do a different workflow according to contents of the second or following page where information of the document contained in the second or following page is designated at the first page, thereby causing impaired work efficiency and understanding error of the document.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide an image processing apparatus realizing flexible document management able to reflect a process to a prescribed page to other processes in a case where a workflow is executed along plural pages and to provide an image processing method using such an image processing apparatus.